THE OUTFIT I STARTED WITH IN 1928, 
when practically everyone said planting tress 
for preventing soil erosion and floods was a 
waste of time and money. 
Had our fanners taken the advice of H. H. 
Bennett, 20 years ago, it would have saved 
billions of dollars, millions of acres of farm 
Sec. 435%, P.L.AR. 
U. S. POSTAGE 
Paid 
Hammond, Indiana 
Permit No. 137 
f'vA/wX- 
lands which would have produced practically 
as much as it did a hundred years ago. 
According to figures furnished by the Dept, 
of Agriculture, it will take several hundred 
years to build up our farm and grazing lands 
now practically ruined. 
'O-S.twfc. 
■ Qa/wa. 
Frank S. Betz 
(Betz Building) 
Hammond, Indiana 
& -d 
BETZ PLANT 1895 AND 1915 WHEN I RETIRED 
HOW MILLIONS OF OUR YOUNG MEN NOW ROAMING THE 
COUNTRY WITHOUT MONEY, OR ANYONE TO LOOK TO FOR 
ADVICE, OVER 60,000 OF WHOM UNDER 21 ENTER OUR JAILS 
YEARLY, COULD BE SAVED: 
Had some one bought them a few bundles of best-selling trees and flowering shrubs, 
which they could commence selling next October, after one season s growth, and make 
over 1 , 000 % profit, or let them grow two cr three years and make many times more, they 
would have an Income, be at home, and at the same ttmo get business experience worth 80 
much to them later on. 
Start young men In a small way, advise with them and If they follow Instructions, 
they will make good and It will lead to something better. 
In 1895, I started a litile shop in our coal shed, (see above) and needed money, a 
man, whom I knew, was looking for a business for his son. I called on him. He asked me 
wnat l wanted for a half-interest. When I said $500, ha laughed, bought In another firm 
and lost over $ 100 , 000 . A . 4 
Opportunities for young men without experience are scarce today, but they can t 
make a mistake where they buy 5,000 or 10,000 assorted trees and shrubs at one or two 
cents each. Should they not have the land, let them make arrangements with some one who 
has for part of the profits and comhiQmxa doing business next October. h 
Over 10 million Christmas trees are sold yearly at from 75 cents to $5.00 ea^h, which 
cost $10 or $16 per 1,000. It costs nothing to let them grow, and even if sold at $ 1.00 
each, there are few $10 investments that will pay $690 profit. 
Over 100 varieties of beautiful trees and flowering shrubs from all parts of the 
world are listed on this sheet that can be grown from seed as easily as corn. 
When you consider that it tai.es 1,210,000 trees, 6-foot “"j 6 ™' f ‘ i' 0 ?? 
tores, or 14 , 520 , 000,000 to reforest the land in lll.nols alone rumed frem M to 100% 
erosion, and half of the farms in this country are tilled by tenants who take no interest in 
preserving the land, what Cooke says about our great deserts will come true. 
According to the last Annua! Government Report on trees Plants' 1 . ' ” " ' 
100 vears to reforest the eroded land in Illinois alone, and over 500 years to reforest the 
'land y !n”ther states, farmed by over 2,000,000 now on relief. The Ohio and Mississippi 
Diuar F3nnr><t will cost US over 50 BILLION DOLLARS. 
Tell thl 3 to the editor of the newspaper, superintendents of schools, and 
men In the 1400 oountles In 22 states where praotically all are on relief, and 69 out of 100 
b vH 0 - ^ 
8YCAMORE -— 1TAt- !^l g3lf > aN E , m _ ROSE OF 8HAR0N — MOGK ORANGE — 
?2pI£y L b?RCH - HACKBERRY - VIRGINIA JUNIPER - MOUNTAIN ASH - 
SCOTCH PINE - N °e ^Christmas' tree* 1-re "nchwWiV The 23 varieties, 100 of each, 
, Th ! Ias i d, »» r the^three Christmas trees cost only S40.00. Or, 18-24 
inch! *555“ AM oan be ^ld a! a big profit next October, or if slowed to grow, they will 
sell for "’aw ‘!ni es ™f'neW 8 whloh I intend to publish again, will give you full In- 
THE BETZ TREE NEWS, wnicn o ^. to ^ market them , a|s0 i n!end , 0 t0 |, 
ho™ C |* started ln°bus!neis 0 *(lth less thin *25. What f done anyone who will keep his feet 
win'be only 25 cents per year. Don't mi ss the fir st number. 
K^TrrtnkVamTTrom the NEW YORK TIME8 on this sheet. Look up 
Bead Vntflf Empt and the Holy Land, and by all means read "TOBACCO 
the history of China, India, Egypt n h , rQ are head8d , or ; nothing can save future 
ROAD,” and you will knpw where m m # ^ centuries in the treeless countries of 
generations from 80 1 h 8t h re u g n w h at y Rotary Klwanls, and other Culbs spend at 
forTtwMorVach hat 'they keep the work up. 
BETZ SETS THE PACE 
8ENT OUT BY THE INDIANA DIVI8I0N 
OF FORESTRY, 1929 
The subject of this Bulletin Is to recognize 
the valuable assistance of one of the first 
private Individuals In Indiana who took ofT 
his coat In 1928 and went to work without 
pay on the tremendous problem of reform 
estatlon. 
The varied career of Mr. Frank 8. Betz 
will be interesting to friends of forestry. 
Mr. Betz was raised on a farm In Wis¬ 
consin and knows forest conditions in prac¬ 
tically every foreign country north of the 
Equator. He worked in a lumber mill and ran 
logs on the Chippewa river in 1879. For seven 
years beginning 1884 he sold hospital insur¬ 
ance to men working in sawmills, lumber 
yards and lumber jacks In over 300 logging 
camps in Michigan, Wisconsin nd Minnesota, 
traveling through miles of wilderness. 
After accumulating a small fortune during 
the World’s Fair in Chicago In 1893 and los¬ 
ing it he started the Frank 8. Betz Company 
in a coal shed In 1895. In a few months he 
was occupying five rented buildings. He then 
built a plant In Chicago and In 1904 ho pur¬ 
chased 12 acres in Hammond and built the 
first section of the Hammond plant which be¬ 
came the largest medical equipment industry 
In the world. 
On his many trips abroad and while trav¬ 
eling through the farming districts in Chin? 
Japan, India, Palestine and Egypt he was 
impressed with the great social economic 
value of forests. Where there were no trees 
there was an Impoverished nation, traced 
directly to the destruction of their forests. 
The people live in mud huts without floors, 
doors or windows. The children follow tb« 
cattle day after day gathering their ofTat 
which is the only fuel the family have. 
Mr. Betz bought a farm five years ago 
where he raises all kinds of trees from seed. 
While experimenting he wanted trees for the 
Betz Boy Scout Camp. 
He then took up the matter with the Ham¬ 
mond Superintendent of Schools and offered 
to furnish 500,000 pine, spruce and arbor vitae 
tree seeds for the pupils to experiment with 
free. Mr. Caldwell, Superintendent agreed to 
this, and over 2,000,000 were planted oy Lake 
County pupils, and over 8,000,000 were plant¬ 
ed this year. 
Up to the present time tree seeds wers 
planted by over 400,000 pupils. His ofler to 
the Indiana Department of conservation last 
week will mean minions of dollars added to 
me wealth or the state. 
Mr. Betz’s offer is to turn over free of 
charge as many water tested wainuts as there 
were walnut seeuings planted by all state 
nurseries In the United States last year. 
These walnuts are to be planted by school 
children and Boy and Girl Scouts, eto., eto. 
Division of Forestry Supports Plan 
The future economic value of fivs million 
walnut trees worth even $25 each, would 
amount to $125,000,000. 
R. F. WILCOX, State Forester. 
u S BECOMING A BIG DESERT! 
Faulty Engineering Gradually Driving AH Moisture Away, 
THE MORRIS L. COOKE ARTICLE, BELOW, 
every word of which Is true, tells what our children must face. 
WASHINGTON, Jan. 29—America faces 
the desert death of Babylon, Nineveh and 
Central China unless science conquers Imme- 
dlately the conditions that produced th„ pre- 
eent disastrous flood In the M'djrest. 
This was the warning tonight by Morris 
L Cooke, rural electrification administrator 
and distinguished management engineer, 
an Interview with Universal Service. 
DUE Floods 8 of M the present and the droughts of 
past Summers are due to the same causes, he 
Dmlidlng of forests and the plowing over 
of sodded areas permit seasonal rains to bo 
run off In floods, Cooke expalned. This water 
which should be absorbed Into tho sod to b 
absorbed In dry seasons, thus Is lost. Cooke 
"It Is the Identical problem that turned 
the vast and fertile lands of Asia Minor and 
central Asia into barren deserts sprinkled 
with deserted ruins of cities: 
"Unt^ three years ago, everything we 
ever did In engineering was completely wrong. 
"We drained marshes and thoughtlessly 
lowered tho underground water table with 
each draining. We fought floods by building 
levees and slicking the path of rainwater to 
the sea. 
STEADY DROP SHOWN _ 
"In North Dakota the water table has 
fallen thirty feet. Elsewhere It has fallen 
twenty feet, or ten feet or five feet. I «»orit 
think there’s a spot In A J ier J ca flI , J' v h0 r! !£! 
water table hasn’t dropped steadily * n 
last few years. It couldn't do otherwise. The 
rainfall that ought to supp'y that wa * er 
Is virtually piped off, by walled rivers, to the 
ocean. 
"Unless the nation awakens to the true 
crisis It Is facing, and acts directly and cor¬ 
rectly within twenty years, tho country Is 
lost. The disease already Is at the critical 
stage, in twenty years It will be past curing.” 
Cooke said engineering knowledge Is still 
very scant on the practical phases of the 
problem. An entire scientific technique must 
be built up, devoloped tried out and perfectod 
he said. 
100 
10.50 
250 
0.00 
4.00 8.00 
8.50 7.00 
LINES OF ATTACK TOLD f 
But certain fundamental principles of 
attack have become obvious, Cooke continued 
am °ScientHic reforestation, wherever land is 
'"'"‘curtailment of plowed-field farming, such 
as corn growing, In favor of grasses and soil- 
buildlng crops like alfalfa and legumes. 
Control of floods by retaining waters In 
catch-basins In the uplands rather than pip¬ 
ing raindrops to the sea." 
B Re-creation of marshos and swamps 
wherever they have been drained oft In the 
PaS *The curtailment of corn production, 
Cooke conceded, Is a considerable problem and 
actually involves educating the American 
taste to other substitute forms of food that 
can be raised without Injury to the soli. 
SOIL RUINED BY CORN 
Corn, be said, Is one of the most destruc¬ 
tive and ruinous crops that can be placed on 
any soil. It requires constant working, and 
on each occasion that the ground Is replowed 
or cultivated, further evaporation occurs. 
Freshly cultivated soil sheds water Instead 
of absorbing It, he explained. 
As an Illustration of tho value ot the 
catch-basin In the uplands, Cooke said that 
where such dams are built an immediate re¬ 
covery Is seen In surrounding territory. 
Springs that have been dry tor years begin to 
flow again; water tables come back to nor¬ 
mal; dry wells begin to produce; drought 
effects are greatly reduced In Summer. 
As another Illustration, he cited the case 
of many farmers In the plains states, who 
were raising excellent crops on land around 
marshes. They drained these marshes, he 
said, expecting that tho land there would be 
good, too. 
Frequently It was not. The draining low¬ 
ered the water table, tho lower water table 
made It Impossible to raise anything on tho 
land that had been highly productive before 
Cooke said: 
"The American people are prone to 
Ignore all this. There Is an attitude that It’s 
all mere theory, and that the warnings won't 
coma true. That is tho dangerous part of our 
present situation." 
FLOWERING SHRUBS 
Good root system. Will commence to grow 
at once. Get your triends to join you, buy in 
lots of 100 or 250, and get wholesale prices. 
No. SHRUBS 
Size 
ALMOND, Amy., _12-18 in. 
ALTHEA, White, Red, Pink, 
or Purple-12-18 in. 
BARBERRY, Jap.12-15 in. 
BEAUTYBERRY, A., 18-24 In. 
BLACKHAW, .12-18 In. 
BLUEBERRY, Tree .18-24 In. 
BROOK Euonymus ..S6-48 in. 
BROOM SCOTCH ...18-24 in. 
BUTTERFLY BUSH 18-24 in. 
CORAL BERRY.18-24 In. 
CRANB’RY Bush HI 6-12 in. 
Crepe Myrtle, Pink, ..12-18 Ln. 
“ " Red, .12-18 in. 
DEUTZIA, Snow, Pink, 
or White _18-24 in. 
" Pride of Roch\, 12-18 in. 
DOGWOOD, Eng. ...12-18 in. 
" Red Bark, ..12-18 in. 
" White Flow., .24-36 in. 
" Yellow Bark, .12-18 in. 
ELDER, Am, .24-S6 in. 
FORSYTHIA, Golden 
Bell .12-18 ln. 
" Weeping, ...12-18 in. 
FRINGE, Purple, ...18-24 ln. 
25 
5.50 
1.00 
1.75 
1.75 
1.75 
1.75 
1.75 
2.00 
3.00 
1.75 
2.00 
7.50 
7.50 
2.00 
2.00 
2.00 
1.75 
3.50 
2.25 
2.00 
1.00 
2.00 
2.50 
7.00 
7.00 
7.00 
7.00 
0.00 
o.oo 
7.00 
0.00 
0.00 
0,00 
0.00 
8.00 
6.50 
6.50 
HAZELNUT, Am.18-24 in. 
HOLLY, Deciduous, 24-36 in. 
Honeysuckle, Frag., ..12-18 in. 
Hydrangea, Hill Sno., 12-18 ln. 
Oak Leaf, ..12-18 ln. 
LILAC, Chinese .18-24 in. 
Am. Purp. ..12-18 in. 
Persian .18-24 In. 
Mock Orange Phila., 18-24 ln. 
Persimmon, Amer, ... 18-24 in. 
PRIVET, Ar.Riv.So. 18-24 in. 
Calif.18-24 in. 
Ibolium.12-18 in. 
Ibota, .12-18 in. 
QUINCE, Jap. Flow. 12-18 in. 
RHODODENDRON, 
Lau Rose -12-18 In. 
ROSE OF SHARON 12-18 In. 
SPICE BUSH, .18-24 in. 
SPIREA, Ant. Wat. 15-18 in. 
" Callosa Alba, 12-15 in. 
“ " Pink, 18-24 ln. 
" Thun., White, 18-24 ln. 
" Van Houtt., ..12-18 in. 
STRAWBERRY Bush 12-24 ln. 
SUMAC, Sweet.12-18 ln. 
SWEET SHRUB, ..18-24 ln. 
Viburnum, Maple-L’f, 24-36 ln. 1.75 
WEIGELIA, Pink ...12-18 in. 2.00 
" Bose, .12-18 in. 2.00 
WITCH HAZEL, ...12-18 in. 2.25 
2.00 
3.25 
2.00 
3.75 
3.00 
4.50 
3.00 
4.50 
1.75 
1.75 
1.50 
2.00 
1.75 
2.00 
4.00 
2.00 
1.25 
1.50 
4.50 
2.50 
2.00 
3.25 
2.00 
2.00 
1.40 
2.00 
3.50 
3.50 
3.50 
3.50 
5.00 
8.BO 
8.BO 
4.50 
000 . 
0.00 
4.00 
4.00 
3.75 
3.25 
6.75 11.00 
5.50 10.50 
3.75 7.50 
3.50 7.00 
4.00 8.00 
7.00 12.15 
3.50 7.00 
6.50 10.26 
4.00 8.00 
11.50 
8.25 
15.00 
0.50 
15.00 
4.00 
3.50 
2.75 
4.00 
3.25 
3.50 
0.00 
0.00 
0.00 
0.00 
0.00 
7.50 
5.50 
6.50 
7.56 
6.M 
7.00 
12.50 25.00 
4.25 
2.50 
3.00 
14.00 
8.25 
4.50 
5.50 
0.00 
6.50 12.50 
4.50 0.25 
8.50 0.00 
4.00 
4.00 
2.50 
4.00 
3.50 
4.00 
4.00 
4.50 
7.50 
8.00 
5.25 
7.00 
6.50 
7.50 
7.50 
0.00 
COLORADO BLUE SPRUCE 
FROM COLORADO. 90% will turn Koster. 
10 TREES, 12 INCH, S3.00. 25 3-year-old, 
S2 50 Or 100, $5.50. Sell for Ss.OO each in 
four years. SPECIAL PRICE ON COLO¬ 
RADO SILVER BLUE SPRUCE AFTER 
MARCH 15th. 
LAST YEAR. MY CHAUFFEUR 
raised and sold $19 worth of CHINESE 
ELMS from seed on 8x8 feet. 2500 CATAL- 
PAS from seed on 5x5 feet, and over 500 
RUSSIAN OLIVES on 5x6 feet. Yet millions 
call this "kindergarten stuff”. TEACH 
EVERY PUPIL TO PLANT TREES. 
ALEXANDER H. LEGGE, PRESIDENT OF 
THE INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER 
COMPANY, at the Central States For¬ 
estry Congress, Cincinnati, Ohio 
December 4, 1931, Said 
Speaking of individuals who are inter¬ 
ested in reorestation, probably you peoplo 
of the Central States Forestry Association 
know all about the activities of Mr. Frank 
S. Betz of Hammond, Indiana. 
Mr. Betz might be called a modem 
"Johnny Appleseed" if it were not for the 
fact that he is undoubtedly a keen and up- 
to-date business man. 
I note that Mr. Betz says in a recent 
communication that he expects to round out 
this year the distribution, through clubs, 
associations, Boy and Girl Scouts, 4-H mem¬ 
bers and public school children, of 100 mil¬ 
lion trees and tree seeds. 
May the good Lord send us more men 
like this tree-loving, tree planting gentle¬ 
man from Indiana! 
